The paper she uses is heavier than any made in this country, and must be
imported; the water-colors are very strong. Mrs. Baker claims that in
this method she gets "the strength of oils with the daintiness of
water-colors, and that it is _beautiful_ for women and children, and
sufficiently strong for portraits of men."

She rarely exhibits, and her portraits are in private houses.



BAKHUYZEN, JUFFROUW GERARDINA JACOBA VAN DE SANDE. Silver medal at
The Hague, 1857; honorary medal at Amsterdam, 1861; another at The Hague,
1863; and a medal of distinction at Amsterdam Colonial Exhibition, 1885.
Daughter of the well-known animal painter. From childhood she painted
flowers, and for a time this made no especial impression on her family or
friends, as it was not an uncommon occupation for girls. At length her
father saw that this daughter, Gerardina--for he had numerous daughters,
and they all desired to be artists--had talent, and when, in 1850, the
Minerva Academy at Groningen gave out "Roses and Dahlias" as a subject,
and offered a prize of a little more than ten dollars for the best
example, he encouraged Gerardina to enter the contest. She received the
contemptible reward, and found, to her astonishment, that the Minerva
Academy considered the picture as belonging to them.

However, this affair brought the name of the artist to the knowledge of
the public, and she determined to devote herself to the painting of
flowers and fruit, in which she has won unusual fame. There is no
sameness in her pictures, and her subjects do not appear to be
"arranged"--everything seems to have fallen into its place by chance and
to be entirely natural.